Feedsacks, Flour Sacks, or Grain Sacks? Is There A Difference?

Through the years I’ve heard the term Feed Sack, Flour Sack and Grain Sack used to describe the vintage bags dry goods and animal feed used to come in. These terms were used for everything from the canvas bags with advertising logos on them to the charming printed cottons my favorite old quilts were made from. As I’ve been planning some projects to enjoy my own personal collection that’s grown through the years, I asked myself, is there a difference between these terms? I decided to do a little searching today and find out once and for all what the difference is between these terms.

To me, there was always a difference between the Feed Sack that featured advertising graphics and the Flour Sack or Grain Sack that was a printed cotton, usually a floral, polka dot, or a plaid. But after reading up, I learned the difference is not so much in the name, but rather the era in which they were made.

From 1840 to the 1920’s, simple muslin or canvas bags containing dried goods and feed replaced the former barrels for packaging and shipping to the consumer. Textile Mills created the bags with advertising, and farm wives would meticulously remove them with special recipes (lard, Kerosene, Fels, Naphtha, Bleach), in order to use the precious commodity for household purposes.

Everything from flour, sugar, feed, seeds, rice and fertilizer were all packaged in these strong fabric bags. Housewives could quickly accumulate enough bags to sew kitchen curtains, bedsheets or clothes for their families. The standard 100 lb feedsack is about 37″ x 43″ when laid flat.

In the 1920’s, companies realized women were creating home textiles from their bags. As good marketers, they came up with the idea to make the packages more appealing by using printed fabrics. They guessed they would sell more because a certain number of bags were needed to sew a dress or a bed covering. Housewives indeed bought more of the calico-type patterns and would even swap back and forth to get enough of the design they wanted. The companies also came up with patterns and projects women could make from their bags, increasing the desirability even more.

I’m not showing any of the calico-patterned feed sacks in this post, but there’s definitely plenty of them in my stash. I love their cheery, bright prints. Last Easter, I decoupaged styrofoam eggs with some of these charming, printed fabrics for our centerpiece. You can see them here: “Divided Drawer: From Workbench To Centerpiece”.

By 1941 there were 31 textile mills manufacturing these utilitarian bags. One such company, The Bemis Company was located in Minnesota, which probably explains why I see their bags more commonly in my area. The advertisement feed/grain/flour sacks I’m featuring here all have the textile mill’s logo on one side and the company that’s making the contents’ logo on the other. The food companies have bright colored logos to attract the consumer’s attention and the textile mill’s logo is just in black.

Years ago, while at a farmhouse purchasing items for my former store, a good-sized pile of these Advertising Feedsacks were sitting out. My business partner and I had reached our limit of spending for the store, but I couldn’t go home without some of the stack. I bought them for $5 each, and I honestly wish I would have bought them all now. Isn’t that just the way it goes? I only remember what I left behind, I never regret buying something that I know is hard to come by.

I’ve picked up a couple more through the years, but they were never as nice or as plentiful as that day.

It looks like most of my collection sell for anywhere form $20-$50 online now. I love that many of mine feature Minneapolis companies, since I’ve lived here all my life and like to decorate with hometown history.

As I was trying to figure out the true definition of Feed Sack vs. Flour Sack vs. Grain Sack, I came across an adorable book that I need to add to my “I Want” list: “Feedsacks: The Colorful History of a Frugal Fabric”, written by Linzee Kull McCray, published by UpperCase. It is filled to the brim with beautiful pictures of these historical bags. Get a sneak peak on this blog post {“Feedsacks: The Colorful History of a Frugal Fabric”.

And as I was deciding how I am actually going to use these treasures around my home to enjoy them everyday, I came across a project Cathe Holden had done for Country Living magazine years ago. Cathe embroidered certain parts of each feed sack graphic to really pop the elements; think I need to do this! Check out her amazing creativity, “Embroidered Flour and Feed Sack Wall Art”. I had forgotten that I used to read Cathe’s blog years ago, before I ever had one of my own! I’m so glad to see she’s still creating!

The old graphics on these advertisement feed sacks are much more stable than I realized. I was worried if I washed them, the beautiful typography would disappear. It was good to learn the ink they used was not water soluble and actually was quite hard to get rid of. I want to enjoy the graphics for a long time and still be able to wash the items I want to make with them!

So what’s the difference between the terms Feed Sack, Flour Sack or Grain Sack? It seems the terms are interchangeable. Sacks that featured advertisements definitely came before the printed versions. Their farmhouse graphic charm is what entices me to turn them into some fun projects for my home! Stay tuned!

What a great post! I learned a lot. I have a few seed bags that I have washed and some of the reds bled a little, but they still look pretty good. Found them in my Mother-in-Laws attic just rotting away. I haven’t decided what to do with them yet.

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Hi there! I'm Lora, and I love inspiring and encouraging others to live creatively! I've been hunting down junky, vintage treasures for most of my life, which has led me on many adventures through the years…

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